Emergency

Dear Diary,

Today didn’t start off as the greatest day.  I didn’t feel well early this morning.  Mom asked me what was wrong.  Sometimes I really wish I could talk – well, you know -not just bark or whine.Talk so she could understand me. She just said she’d have to keep an eye on me.

Well after breakfast I still wasn’t feeling well.  I had to go out several times.  Mom was stroking my face to make me feel better when she noticed that there was a bump on my nose.  That’s not usually there.  (She does the “Snout-to-Tail” assessment,which she teaches in our Pet Tech Pet CPR and First Aid classes. So she knows what is normal for me.)

My Normal Profile

Mom was worried and called my vet.  They could see me in a couple of hours.  By the time she got off the phone, Dad said that the swelling had spread to my jowls.  Mom decided to take me to the vet right away, since it is about a half-hour drive.  By the time we got in the car, my eyes were starting to get puffy, too.  Mom made sure that she had the benadryl  in my first aid kit.  She didn’t give it to me but wanted it along in case I got even worse..

My face was quite swollen all over  when we got to the vet’s.  (Nothing was bothering me – I had done my  job barking at a couple of dogs on our way there.)  They put me in a room immediately even though my appointment wasn’t for another hour.  The vet tech came in and I went under the bench.  She is the only one that can spray that awful kennel cough stuff up my nose. That is just the WORST!!  Well, she didn’t do that today.  She put me up on the table and petted me and said nice things to me about how brave I was being.  She gave me two shots – one of them benadryl.  She said it was definitely an allergic reaction.  What was different?  Well, there was a weird stingy bug in our kitchen the other day.  Strange for winter here in Vermont, but we burn wood and maybe it came in that way. She asked about anything different I might have eaten.  Well, I was in a store with Mom yesterday and I had been VERY good so the clerk gave me a couple of bones that I don’t usually get – they were pretty – red.  Perhaps I reacted to the dye.   We don’t really know, but Mom got some other medicine for me and she is supposed to watch me carefully.  (She does that anyway!)  It could be very serious  if the reaction starts to interfere with my breathing.

They said that I might get a little sleepy.  But I felt good enough to bark about another dog on the way home.

The swelling is going down.  I’m looking more normal.  Mom said that she should have taken a picture for this blog and for our classes.  I’m glad she didn’t – I like to be pretty.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

Calendar Dog

Dear Diary,

Another contest. I didn’t win the other one.  Maybe this time.  Please!  Please!

The Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) is holding its first online photo contest, “Furry Friends Photo Contest”, to raise funds to care for the homeless animals of Rutland County, VT.  Votes are $1 each with a minimum of 5 votes per transaction. The top vote winner at the conclusion of the contest (March 8)  will be the cover photograph on their 2011 calendar.  I would love to be on a calendar (other than the ones that Mom makes for herself)!!

You can vote here.  (There are lots of cute dogs, but please vote for me.)

This is the picture that I have submitted.
It was taken on our cross country trip when I was younger. (Read ABOUT.)

The RCHS is  our local Shelter and we have long supported them.  Even before me, Mom and Dad used to take the Santa Photos at the local mall.  Every Tuesday night was Pet and Santa time, with donations made to the RCHS. These evenings were always a hit.  Here is my puppy with Santa picture. (It’s not for the contest, but just to show you what a cute puppy I was!)

Mom and I did a Pet Tech First Aid class at the RCHS last summer, as a fund raiser for them.  We will continue to do classes in this area for their benefit.

All shelters are in need of financial support these days.  RCHS receives no financial support from any national or local humane organization. Programs are supported solely by donations, memberships and fund raising events. They are currently in the middle of a much needed renovation to the  animal housing space in the shelter.

If you already support a shelter and choose to continue that support, perhaps you can suggest this contest idea to them. In any case, thanks for caring about animals in need.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

PS You can follow me now on Twitter -as  sensibledog.

Dog with a Purpose

Dear Diary,

They said on the news that today – January 25 – is the most depressing day of the year.  People have a lot to learn about JOY.  The dogs of the world could teach them.

Trixie Koontz, a Golden Retriever owned by writer Dean Koontz (my two favorite authors) said in her book   Life is Good! lessons in joyful living, “A joyful life needs to have purpose”.  Trixie had been trained as a service dog at Canine Companions for Independence. She had been forced to retire early, but she had truly been a “dog with a purpose”.  After becoming a part of the Koontz family, she continued her work of inspriation through the words of her person Dad.  His book a big little life is a true tribute to her life.

I really admire Trixie.  And I admire other dogs that I hear about who are service dogs, or police dogs, or other dogs with “jobs”.  I’ve wondered about my purpose.  As an Australian Shepherd, I know that my breed was developed to be the all-around ranch dog of the American West.  We do have horses, but this little farm in Vermont is hardly a “ranch”.  We don’t ride off in the sunset after checking on the herd, or anything like that.

I try to learn the lessons that Mom teaches me.  We’ve done agility, rally, freestyle, herding, Canine Good Citizen.    I’m a demo dog when Mom teaches her  PetTech Pet CPR and First Aid classes.  Were any of those things  really “my PURPOSE”?

I think now that those things were all a part of my most important purpose – to be WITH MOM – to truly be her friend and companion.  Being with her  – that is my  joy.

Mom and I - Together

This picture was taken on Dad’s  cross country bike trip – read ” About Us”.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

Working on a “RRR” – a Really Reliable Recall

Dear Diary,
Since I passed my Canine Good Citizen in July (see entry from 7-15-09), my classes have been about learning to work off leash.  We work a lot on what Mom calls an “RRR” – a Really Reliable Recall.

In one class my trainer Nathan pulled out the tunnels and had laid them out across the room, with just a little space between them.  Now this looked very strange.  I mean I know how to run through tunnels really fast.  But you need to be able to go in thru one end and then come out the other end.

This is me doing a tunnel - the normal way.

Well, I had to sit at one end of the room, while Mom walked between the tunnels to the other   end of the room.  Then she called me.  So, I ran to her really fast – just the way she had walked – between the tunnels.  That was fine.

Then, Nathan put the pause table in the space between the tunnels.  I know the pause table – you jump up on it and then sit or down – whatever your Mom says.  But this time, I was on one side of the table and Mom was on the other.  When she called me, I went up over the table and right to her.  A couple of my classmates didn’t like this.  But I did just fine.

Then Nathan totally blocked the spaces between the tunnels.  When Mom called me, I found that I could fit between the wall and the tunnel, so I went that way.  Classmates – didn’t know what to do.

Then Nathan fixed it so I couldn’t fit next to the wall.  I did the only thing left to do – I jumped over the tunnel.  Weird – but everyone clapped and cheered and said how good I was.  Whatever.  Cheers are good – treats are good too.

This is what I look like when I run really fast.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

Hugs Today

Dear Diary,
On the calendar of weird holidays, today has two listings :  National Hugging Day   and Squirrel Appreciation Day.

Now, I love hugs so the first day seems like a winner.   Doing some research on  hugs I found that:
“Every human being needs four hugs per day merely to survive; eight hugs per day to maintain oneself at a strong emotional level; twelve hugs per day to grow.”
Also consider :”Hugging is natural, organic, naturally sweet, free of pesticides and preservatives, contains no artificial ingredients. …  There are no batteries to wear out, no periodic checkups. It consumes little energy, while yielding a lot. It’s inflation-proof. It’s non-fattening. There are no monthly payments. No insurance requirements. It’s theft-proof, non-taxable, non-polluting, and fully refundable. And it costs very little.  Hugging is healthy; it assists the body’s immune system, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it invigorates, it rejuvenates, and it has no unpleasant side-effects.”    They go on to say “a hug can take many forms – an embrace, a kind word, a touch, a loving smile.”
I say “How about a paw on your shoulder, and dog head in your lap, or a quick lick across your face.”  I intend to celebrate hugs today and everyday!!

Mom hugs me often.

Squirrels on the other hand.  Well, keeping them away from our bird feeders is one of my jobs.  I know the command “Go bark out the window”.  When I’m out in the yard and I see one at the feeder, I chase it to the nearest tree.  In the winter I have actually won the race.  Of course, I don’t do anything to hurt the squirrels – I  just herd them up the tree.  But I certainly don’t intend to “HUG” a squirrel.

Mom says this would be ok - but I still bark!

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

The Intelligence of Cats

Dear Diary,

I’ve thought before about  how smart dogs are. (Remember last March, when I got upset because some book said that Aussie’s are – well,   dumb,  at the bottom of the list, like a brick maybe.  Oh, I get upset all over again.)  Anyway, I’ve never really thought about how intelligent are cats?

I’m not sure.  I know that Mom doesn’t make Reilly or Fluffy do tricks or go to classes the way she makes me.  Does that mean they couldn’t learn – or wouldn’t learn – or don’t need to learn?  What does that say about me?  Am I smarter or do I need more of Mom’s time to make me easier to live with? And then there were all those cats at Animal Adoption Montreal. (Last October.)   They just sort of fit right into the Pet Tech Pet First Aid class without being told what to do.  I’m not sure what that means?!  Mom practiced a lot with me before my first class as assistant.

And anyway, what would  a cat want to know?  If a cat were to search for  something on-line , I’d have guessed it would be about catnip, or may identifying birds, perhaps the habits of rodents.  What do you think?

Reilly walks across the computer a lot , especially the laptop.  Usually his searches end up with  “no match  found”.  But this morning, he  entered 0p-[; ,m0; . Suddenly, there were the search results – all kinds of scientific papers listed, about some kind of protein .  WOW – maybe Reilly is brighter than I’ve given him credit for.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

PS  My cat friend in Montreal, Archer, got a forever home in Dec.  Just in time for Christmas.  YES!!

Dress Up Your Dog Day

Dear Diary,

Today is dress up your dog day.  I’m not real excited.  I certainly hope Mom doesn’t think she is going to put a dress on me.  She made me wear a bow for this year’s Christmas picture. That was bad enough.  I made funny faces at the camera.

She just showed me some pictures of other dogs dressed up.

This one was Mom and Dad’s Christmas card before they had me.  The collie was named Brodie, the tiger cat Barney, and white cat Willy. OH MY!!

And then this one.  Dad photographed a wedding where this dog was dressed like the groomsmen.  OH MY AGAIN!!

I mean I can see putting a jacket on a little dog in the winter. (Like this  one on sale to our members.)  But these are WAY OVER THE TOP!!

I guess the bow wasn’t so bad after all.  Sorry, Mom.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

In the “Dog House”

Dear Diary,

Mom is sort of upset with me right now.  She says that I was irre-   something.  And now she’s irri – something.  I was irresponsible and she is irritated.

We were playing  disk-dog as we usually do in the morning when we go out to feed the horses.   I chased my  Ruff Wear Hover Craft out into the snow.
But wait. What’s that?

Deer tracks. Deer had been dancing  in the yard last night.  Tracks were everywhere.  I just had to show Mom where they had been -over  here and over  here and then down there over the stone wall toward the pond.

Mom called me back to her.  I went to her  right away – but without my disk.

She sent me back into the yard to find my disk.  I looked and looked.  But I had been so many places – over here and over here and down  there.  I couldn’t find  it.

It’s snowing again right now.  She says that we probably won’t it find it again until spring.

Good thing that she always has a backup disk!!  We didn’t play anymore today – but I know we will tomorrow.
And it’s also a good thing that she never stays upset with me for very long.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

PS I was never  really outside in a dog house.

Snow Jumping

Dear Diary,

I love jumping.   Mom has  packed away my agility jumps for the winter, but those white plastic pipe jumps aren’t the only things around.

We have SNOW – and I mean a LOT of snow.   When they plow our driveway, we end up with SNOWBANKS!!  I think they should be called “SNOW JUMPS” or “BANK JUMPS” or something fun like that.  “Cause jumping them is FUN.

Maybe we could create a whole snow agility course.  Think about it.   Snow tunnels to run through.  Great big piles of snow to climb.   Weave Poles could have little snow cones on top of them.  Maybe it would fall on me when I ran thru them.

They'd look sort of like this.

Bushes with snow on their branches could  be like the chute.  I’d get all snowy – but that’s FUN too.

Could we combine that with a disk catch or two??   Why not?!    I mean we  are creating a whole new event!!

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

I Must Help the Cats

Dear Diary,

Yesterday was Christmas.  I already told you about one of my presents.  Well,  let me tell you about a present Mom gave the cats.  It is this red dot thing – she called a ” laser” – what ever that is.  It sort of sounds like “lazy”, which is sort of what the cats are – especially in the winter.  So, maybe it is supposed to make them less lazy.

Anyway, somehow Mom let this little red round thing out and it ran all around the room.  Under the cats’ feet and under their bellies. Up on the couch and up on the wall.  The cats were chasing it and putting their paws right on it.  But it kept getting away.  And then it would disappear under the wrapping paper.  And then it would show up in another place.  Well, Reilly and Fluff did chase it for a while but  then they got tired out.

So I had to help them.  I mean we couldn’t just let this little thing run loose in the house could we?  So I chased it.  It went under my feet and under my belly.  Up on the couch and up on the wall.  finally it ran under the wrapping paper again and I pounced.  The cats should have tried that.  It did not come back out.  I either got it or really scared it.

Signed, Tucker (your blog host)
To read more about me go to The Sensible Dog.

PS  I guess it was just scared, because it came out again.  I chased it some more and then it hid again.  I hope Mom’s not upset that this “lazy thing” is loose in the house.  I know she doesn’t like it when the cats and I let mice run around.

PPS   I need to tell someone that this thing is not LAZY at all.  It can really move and it can jump pretty high too.